CAREER ENHANCEMENT CORE: SUMMARY/ABSTRACT Virginia M. Miller, Ph.D. The aims for the Career Enhancement Core (CEC) in this renewal application for the Mayo Clinic Specialized Center of Research of Excellence (SCORE) on Sex Differences are a natural extension of activities begun under the previous funding cycle. The three aims of the CEC in this renewal application focus on the long-term sustainability of programs in women's health and sex-differences research: 1) to develop the next generation of clinical and basic researchers, 2) to provide leadership and development of best practices and policies in biomedical research aimed toward understanding diverse health outcomes, and 3) to serve as a vital hub for the education and dissemination of innovative sex-based translational research methods, results, and best practices. The leadership development begins with assuring that there is appropriate transitional leadership for the program through: a) deliberate mentorship of senior investigators in management skills, b) fostering research careers of newer investigators involved with the SCORE through mentoring and funds for ancillary studies to the SCORE projects, and c) stimulus grants open to the research community to broaden the scope of research into sex-differences across the Mayo Clinic Enterprise, including collaboration with the Mayo Clinic Center for Individualized Medicine and the Mayo Clinic Office of Health Disparities Research. Our SCORE Investigators are providing insight into best practices and policies through various venues, and have a proven track record of publications related to sex-differences methodology and research visioning. In addition, during the previous funding cycle, our investigators have established collaborative and synergistic programs with other NIH-funded Mayo Clinic resources and mentoring programs such as Building Interdisciplinary Careers in Women's Health (BIRCWH) and the Center for Clinical and Translational Science Program (CCaTS). During the renewal funding cycle, initiatives to develop curricula in sex- and gender-medicine will be continued and formalized. Research findings and best practices will continue to be disseminated through research symposia locally and at national professional meetings. The past productivity, the past successes, and the diversity of the Mayo Clinic SCORE Investigators, which represents over thirteen departments and divisions and multiple professional societies, assures the sustainability and the far reaching influence of our program on the future of research on women's health and sex-differences.